03 October 2023 , 08:32
936
0
Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys has stuck the boot in on his old employers over their coverage of Liverpool's controversial defeat against Tottenham at the weekend.
The match, which was broadcast live on Saturday evening, was marred by a significant VAR error which saw a perfectly good goal by Luis Diaz wrongly chalked off for offside. Tottenham went on to win the match 2-1 courtesy of a last-gasp own goal, while Liverpool also had two players sent off.
PGMOL, the body responsible for officials in the English game, issued an apology to Liverpool after the match. VAR Darren England and Assistant VAR Dan Cook have been scrutinised after allegedly failing to realise Diaz had been wrongly flagged for offside before completing their checks, meaning the incorrect decision was not overturned.
Liverpool were not appeased by said apology and responded with a firm statement of their own, while others have also expressed their frustrations over the incident.
Some of the complaints by fans have centred around Sky Sports' coverage: something Keys gleefully referenced in his blog. He slammed Sky for missing the incident and then claimed they interrupted their own coverage of the start of the second-half in order to hastily discuss it after beINSPORTS had brought the controversy to light.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
Writing in his blog, Keys said: "I know people in the U.K. were confused by their coverage. Your host broadcaster missed the incident and went into meltdown when they saw our tweet. They knew they had to discuss it which is why they also missed the start of the second-half. It had nothing to do with long ad-breaks."
Join the debate! What do you think should happen next with VAR? Let us know here.
Richard Keys has stuck the boot in on Sky Sports over their coverage of Liverpool's controversial loss against Tottenham (beINSPORTS)During Sky Sports' coverage of Fulham vs Chelsea on Monday night, it was revealed that referee Simon Hooper and his staff were unaware that a significant error had been made in Saturday's match until they went in at half-time. VAR officials, meanwhile, recognised the mistake immediately but did not communicate it.
The development left Anfield legend Jamie Carragher, who was analysing the London derby for Monday Night Football, absolutely stunned. He fumed: "I don't think the feeling about VAR has been lower, it's at crisis point.
"It's not just this decision it's on the back of other incidents this season, like the Wolves one with Manchester United. I don't want to pile into the officials or [PGMOL chief] Howard Webb, they must feel awful. I'm not into the conspiracy theories - no one gains anything from this. We've all made mistakes. But this is a horrendous mistake, unprecedented, you can't quite believe the explanation that has been given."
Liverpool have since contacted the PGMOL asking for access to the audio of Hooper and England's conversation. It remains to be seen whether or not their request will be successful, with the Reds also planning to appeal the red card that was shown to Curtis Jones.